


leap of faith

by laughtales



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drinking Games, Feelings, Gen, Humor, M/M, alternately titled: girls' night gone wrong (or very very right), everyone is older and legal, the girls (lovingly) gang up on Sylvain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24168397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laughtales/pseuds/laughtales
Summary: Sylvain's been dancing around his feelings for Felix since forever ago and the girls have had enough of it.It's time for an intervention.aka: Hilda cons Sylvain into attending girls' night and is forced to confront his Feelings™
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ingrid Brandl Galatea & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Sylvain & all the FE3H girls, Sylvain Jose Gautier & Hilda Valentine Goneril, all the girls are friends
Comments: 12
Kudos: 173





	leap of faith

**Author's Note:**

> This originally started with three lines of humorous dialogue and ended up way longer than expected with feels. I have no idea how it happened.

“I thought you said we were going to a bar.” Sylvain raises an eyebrow as the cab pulls up in front of an apartment complex he doesn’t recognize. 

Hilda pays the driver and hops out with what Sylvain belatedly realizes are bags of alcohol. “Nah, I invited you for drinks with the gang. You made your own assumptions.” She passes him one of the bags and he fumbles for a second at the weight of it. He keeps making the mistake of forgetting how strong Hilda is despite her seemingly delicate physique. 

“Okay, house party then. Should’ve told me, I would’ve brought some stuff too.” He follows her into the elevator where she presses the button for the eighth floor.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Hilda quips. Sylvain smile drops just slightly, feeling suddenly nervous about this whole thing. Before he gets the chance to question her, they arrive at their floor and Hilda is sweeping out of the elevators, pink pigtails trailing behind her.

Sylvain sighs and follows her to the door at the end of the hall. It swings open when he catches up to her. “Finally! We were starting to think he chickened out. Everyone else is already here,” Dorothea greets and ushers them inside.

Sylvain blinks and hovers in the entrance. “Hilda.”

“Hm?” She’s already joining the rest of the gang but turns back to him with her most innocent smile. “What’s up?”

Sylvain carefully puts on his most relaxed, charming, _fake_ smile and waves to the group. “Why did you bring me to girls’ night? Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered and I’m all for some fun but you gotta warn a guy before-“

“Oh, don’t get a big head sweetheart,” Dorothea scoffs. Sylvain twitches nervously at the endearment. “We definitely have ulterior motives but not of the unsavory kind you’re imagining. We wouldn’t have invited the babies for that kind of thing.”

“I would never,” Sylvain almost laughs at how red Annette turns. Instead he’s distracted by the very prominent squeak from some blankets that Bernadetta has definitely hidden herself under while Lysithea protests loudly that she is not a baby.

It feels normal.

He unwinds a millimeter but still doesn’t feel great about these ulterior motives being spoken about so blatantly. “Pray tell then, why _have_ you gathered all these beautiful ladies for me?”

“Because,” Ingrid stumbles over to him and pokes him roughly in the chest. “I will lose my absolute shit if I have to deal with another day of listening to your ridiculous pining.” He can see the telltale signs of intoxication dusting her cheeks and helps steady her when she wobbles.

He frowns as he runs through Ingrid’s drunken spiel again, a protest already on his tongue. He doesn’t get the chance to voice it.

“It’s an intervention, sunshine.” Hilda says matter-of-factly.

Sylvain is suddenly very, very afraid.

Contrary to his heightened survival instincts, Sylvain’s having a really good time and hey, the girls haven’t eaten him alive yet. The alcohol is definitely helping his good mood though.

They started with casually catching up over drinks, pizza, and a very bad movie with lots of hilarious commentary. Catching up ranged from boring work complaints to very bad dates and Sylvain has a blast with the conversation as long as it doesn’t turn to him. Which, thankfully, it doesn’t because someone (probably Dorothea) got everyone going on some very loud and enthusiastic karaoke. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Edelgard let loose that much and it’s honestly refreshing to see.

Sylvain is only a little bit tipsy by the time people start turning in for the night. Annette has a healthy flush on her cheeks when she sprawls on the floor with some cushions and is out like a light before Mercedes even has the chance to ask Dorothea for a blanket. Edelgard has also been cut off by Dorothea after she was rushed to the bathroom to throw up and is now resting in bed with a bucket. Sylvain never expected her to be a lightweight but he’s also never seen her drink so he supposes he has absolutely no gauge on that.

They’re finishing up some version of Go Fish that involved more drinking than strictly necessary and Marianne, lovely responsible designated driver Marianne, brings them all a round of water. If Sylvain cared more, he’d probably accuse Lysithea of cheating but knowing the girl, she’s probably just card counting and taking the game way too seriously. 

“Another round?” He asks. The water does miracles in clearing his head a little. 

“Let’s play something else,” Hilda replies.

Ingrid instantly slams her hand on the table. “Strip poker!”

The others are still digesting Ingrid’s suggestion when Sylvain takes her by the arm. “Okay, and Ingrid’s had enough as well.” He half drags her to the couch while Marianne brings her another water. She protests the entire way.

“We haven’t even gotten to the point of Sylvain being here yet!” Ingrid slurs as Sylvain manhandles her into laying down. “I am _not_ drunk!”

“Definitely the words of a sober person,” Lysithea huffs under her breath.

Sylvain could have gone without the reminder that he’s been cornered with some very terrifying ladies that want something from him but he just sighs and pats Ingrid on the arm. “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. You just take a nap and we’ll get you when they’re ready to harass me.” He tries very hard to ignore the backseat giggling.

“You better,” Ingrid says as she makes herself comfortable on the couch.

Sylvain runs a hand through his hair as he returns to the group. “Sorry about her, I forgot that she gets like that when she’s drunk.”

“Oh, we know.” Hilda says with a smirk. Sylvain raises an eyebrow but doesn’t push the topic further.

“So, we decide on another game?” He asks instead.

Leonie distributes a cup of coke and rum to everyone. “Never have I ever,” she says as she passes him a cup. “No targeted moves or you gotta chug it. If no one or everyone drinks, go again. Finish your drink, either drop out or fill up.”

“That’s it?”

Hilda takes a sip and scrunches her face at the offending drink. “What other rules do you play with?”

Sylvain thinks for a moment. “Nothing comes to mind actually. I mean the guys, mainly Felix, sometimes Dimitri, blacklist certain things when we play but since I assume, since we’re here to gossip, those topics are fair game.”

Dorothea laughs, a little too loudly but that’s the effect of alcohol. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll try not to scare you.”

Lysithea makes a face at them and tugs Bernadetta aside. “We’re going to sit this one out. And before you say anything,” Lysithea glares at the group, “it’s because we have better things to do than gossip about your sex lives.” Bernadetta looks relieved as she follows Lysithea and the two settle in somewhere nearby. Sylvain thinks he catches the words ‘ _recipes_ and ‘ _update’_ and ‘ _fanfiction’_ followed by Bernadetta’s panicked shushing. Sylvain chuckles to himself.

“I think I will also sit this one out,” Marianne says. She doesn’t even need to drink considering she’s the designated driver but Sylvain just nods sympathetically. She smiles at him gently and goes to check on Edelgard and Annette.

Everyone else settles into a loose circle with their disgusting drinks. “So who starts?” Sylvain asks.

“You can do the honors,” Hilda replies.

“Sure,” Sylvain smiles and the chaos begins.

One refill, many embarrassing and occasionally spicy revelations, and Mercedes responsibly dropping out later, it’s Sylvain’s turn again. Sylvain can feel a pleasant buzz in his veins and he’s right on the edge of tipsy and contently drunk. He looks around to the remaining players. Hilda is almost as pink as her hair, Dorothea has descended into song whenever she speaks, Leonie has playfully (drunkenly) slapped him on the back more than once, and Petra… is Petra but more smiley. It’s hard to tell how drunk she is but he decides to throw them all a bone.

“Never have I ever kissed a girl.” Sylvain only stumbles through the words a little as he brings his cup to his lips. Surely they can’t fault him for the slightly cheap shot at Dorothea if he drinks with her.

To his surprise, everyone drinks.

It takes Sylvain a minute to realize he has to go again. “Uh… Never have I ever kissed a girl on the lips?”

Everyone bar Leonie drinks and Hilda quirks an eyebrow in amusement at Sylvain’s bewildered expression. Technically that marks the end of his turn but he’s been stunned into a stupor so he continues.

“With tongue?!” Dorothea and Hilda each take a swig from their cups. Sylvain empties his and throws his hands, cup and all, in the air.

Hilda just giggles and pours him another. “I honestly cannot tell if you’re trying to get us to drink or not sunshine, but you aren’t the only one who’s frenched a girl here.”

“Okay, my turn.” Dorothea looks very determinedly right at Sylvain. “Never have I ever kissed my best friend.”

Sylvain frowns. “That sounds targeted.”

“It’s only targeted if you’re the only one drinking, sunshine.” Hilda says as she joins him in drinking and damn does he want the hear that story. Imagine, Hilda kissing Claude. Maybe he can wring it from Claude at their next board game night.

“I’m next?” Hilda smirks, smug and wide and Sylvain loses all hope of moving off this topic. This topic, being his best friend. Aka, Felix. Aka, the apparent reason they’ve all ganged up on him this fine evening in the name of an intervention. “Never have I ever made a promise to _live together until we die together_ with my best friend and meant it.”

Sylvain pouts and Petra makes a small expression of understanding from Dorothea’s side. “That’s definitely targeted.

Hilda makes a sound and grins at Sylvain. “Still means you’ve done it.” She proceeds to cheer loudly and empty her cup.

“It is now being my turn?” Petra says, and Sylvain would believe that she is still completely sober but he’s seen her drink almost as much as him over the course of the night and that unsettles him more than he likes. Petra very sweetly, very earnestly, thinks for a moment. “Never have I ever been listening to Sylvain talk about Felix’s beauty?”

Dorothea cackles like the witch he’s starting to believe she is and Hilda howls with laugher. Mercedes very gently moves the open bottle of rum away from where Leonie is slamming her hand down on the table in fits of hysteria.

All three of them drink and Sylvain can see Petra giving herself a mental pat on the back.

“Petra, darling, you’re breaking my heart here,” Sylvain whines. “And here I thought you were on my side.” Petra looks immediately concerned and before she can apologize in earnest, Sylvain holds up his hand. “I’m kidding, Petra. Don’t take it seriously.” Instead, he glares at the others who are in varying stages of recovery. “I can’t believe you would con sweet, innocent Petra into your conspiracy.”

“It’s not a conspiracy if it’s true.” Sylvain whirls around to face Bernadetta and he immediately regrets it because it makes his head spin. But he raises an eyebrow at her and if Sylvain thought he had any allies left, well, that thought is shot down because Bernadetta just shrugs and squeaks. Evidently, even the dropouts are now invested in this line of interrogation.

“Okay, fine. Wake Ingrid up and let’s get this over with.” Sylvain forgoes the coke and pours straight rum into his cup. Maybe he’ll get wasted enough not to remember this come morning. Once Ingrid, more sober and definitely more giddy, joins them again, he takes another generous drink. “So, what do you want from me?”

“To admit that you have feelings for Felix.” Ingrid says triumphantly. “And preferably, act on them.”

“Yeah, no thanks. I’ll pass.” Sylvain takes another drink.

Ingrid claws at her hair in frustration. “Sylvain. I literally walked in on the two of you drunkenly making out last month. When I asked, you had to gall to tell me it meant nothing and was just a drunken mistake. And then,” she accentuates each word by moving closer and closer to him. “And then, I had to subsequently endure your moping when Felix gave you the cold shoulder for a week. Even after you two made up, I have to listen to you pining over him near constantly. And this isn’t even the first time that’s happened!”

Sylvain sighs and shakes his head when Hilda offers him a refill. “It’s complicated,” he mumbles.

Ingrid groans very, very loudly.

“Oh for Sothis’ sake,” Hilda exasperates. “Do you, or do you not, like Felix. Yes or no, Sylvain.”

Sylvain regrets not being more drunk. Or sober. He’d take either. Of course, this was their entire ploy so even he can admit defeat even if it’s not graciously. “Yes,” he says, very pointedly not looking at any of them.

“And do you, yes or no, want to be dating him?”

“Why didn’t you guys gang up on Felix instead. Oh that’s right, because he would never agree to it and even if he did, he would’ve left the second he saw this shitstorm.” He’s just a tad spiteful, now that he can think a little more clearly thanks to the water Mercedes brought him.

“Answer the question, Gautier.” Ingrid demands.

“Fine! Yes, I like Felix. Yes, I wish we could be more than friends. Yes, he’s ruined me for love forever because I don’t want anyone else besides him.” The confessions bleed from Sylvain because the damn vultures aren’t going to leave him alone until they’ve picked him bare. He barrels through their gleeful squeals. “And no, I never intend to tell him or act on these feelings.” He delights just a little seeing the joy drain from their faces, not to mention the frustrated growl Ingrid makes.

“Why not, Sylvain. Felix makes you happy. We’ve all seen it. So what’s stopping you?” Mercedes enquires, in that gentle motherly voice of hers.

He hesitates. He wants to say it’s because of his rotten family and their outdated expectations but that’s honestly an excuse. He’s long decided that he doesn’t give a fuck what his parents want. He’s already denied his inheritance and any help from them so what would it matter if they if they officially disowned him. It’s just a matter of paperwork at this point.

No, the actual answer is that he’s a coward.

He loves Felix to the ends of the earth, the ends of the universe even. He loves Felix more than he hates himself and so long as he’s in his life, Sylvain has a reason to get up in the morning and be a better person than he was the day before. And as _happy_ as that makes him, it terrifies him in equal measures. He’s scared of ruining their friendship because of his stupid feelings. He’d rather live with a dagger in his heart that Felix will never love him back and still be friends, than bet everything on a pathetically small chance that Felix will say yes.

He doesn’t know if he could live with the heartache of Felix never wanting to see him again. He barely survived the week on Ingrid’s couch when Felix ignored him.

He says as much in so many words and by the time he’s laid everything bare, Mercedes is gently rubbing his back and Bernadetta has rushed over to hug him. He doesn’t see the rest of their reactions, he’s too absorbed in his own pity party to care, especially when they forced it out of him.

“That’s so stupid.” Lysithea says suddenly and everyone’s eyes go to her, many unamused. She ignores them and pulls out her phone instead. “You guys really expect me to believe that none of you think Felix likes him back? It’s like, 2am. I bet if I text Felix right now to come pick up your drunk butt, he’d show up, grumbling but, no questions asked.”

She gets a round of nods and hums of agreement. Sylvain wipes his nose on the tissue Marianne offers him. “Yeah, because he’s done it before and is a good friend and roommate.”

“And,” Lysithea doesn’t seem to be finished yet as she scrolls through her phone. “He wouldn’t be pestering me about this,” she says, thrusting her phone into his face.

It’s the text history between her and Felix and it is very extensive and does not at all have the reassuring effect Lysithea thinks it has. “What am I looking at?”

“That, is Felix asking for cake recommendations,” Lysithea says. “To commemorate some arbitrary occasion he refused to elaborate on.”

Sylvain looks at her like she’s grown a second head. “Felix hates sweets.”

“But you don’t.” Ingrid says, having a pretty good idea what event Felix intends to honor. She’s also dumbfounded that Sylvain is opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish like he doesn’t know what occasion is that Felix could possibly want to spend with him.

Lysithea continues. “At first, he asked me to teach him how to bake one. I’m sure you can imagine how well that went. He tried and failed, miserably, and did his Felix version of brooding until settling for buying you a cake instead.”

Sylvain is still digesting Felix wanting to celebrate something with him that it takes another whole minute to process Felix trying to bake. If Felix made it, he would happily eat a charred poisonous brick so he’s a little disappointed that Felix didn’t stick to his original intent.

“Take a leap of faith, sweetheart,” Dorothea chimes. “It might just be worth it.”

Everyone is, evidently, more sober than he assumed.

Sylvain manages a small chuckle but it comes out halfway between that and a sob. “What did I ever do to deserve you lovely menaces.”

“Admit it, you love us.” Hilda chirps, sweet and happy and smiles even wider when Sylvain breathes a shaky exhale in assent.

“Oh, but you get full right to get mad at me,” Dorothea says and Sylvain gives her a confused look. “I did actually text Felix to come get you and he coming up the elevator now.”

Sylvain expression morphs into one of distress, panic, and _terror._ Dorothea tilts her head towards the door and as if on cue, someone bangs on the door unacceptably loudly for how late it is.

“I mean, Sylvain. This was an intervention, but it’s still girls’ night.” Hilda winks and helps him stand, fluffing up his hair. Dorothea’s opening the door by the time she’s done and walking him over.

Felix looks predictably very unamused. He didn’t even bother to tie up his hair so it drapes messily over his shoulders and he clearly threw on whatever he saw laying around, which was apparently Sylvain’s old hoodie and it’s doing awful things to Sylvain’s heart. “I’m here for the idiot,” he says like they don’t already know that.

Hilda gives Sylvain a hard smack on the back (really, that girl needs to learn to control her strength), and sends him tumbling into Felix’s arms. “He’s all yours, Felix. Might want to help him to the car, he drank a lot.” Sylvain glares at her and she just laughs and gives him a small wave before retreating into the room.

Sylvain’s face burns and if Felix notices, he doesn’t say anything. Sylvain can blame it on the alcohol anyways and it wouldn’t even be that far from the truth. He wouldn’t be surprised if Felix decided to drop him in the hallway though and drag him by the ankles the entire way to his car.

Felix sighs, deep enough that Sylvain can feel it travel through Felix’s body. “Do I even want to know what you guys were doing?” Felix says flatly, raising an eyebrow at the room and his face scrunches like he’s been offended by the sight.

If the girls didn’t know him better, they’d be insulted. But since they do, several of them wave at him and Dorothea just winks. “Nope, it’s our little secret, right sweetheart?” Sylvain can feel how tense Felix goes against his side when Dorothea calls him her usual pet name.

“Fine. But if he throws up in my car you guys are cleaning it.” Sylvain would argue that he’s nowhere near that level of drunk but Felix is being nice to him right now so he holds his words. Felix has an arm around his waist and is supporting at least half his weight against his side. He’s even running his thumb gently across his knuckles where it’s slung over his shoulders. He can’t bring himself to part with the warmth of Felix’s body pressed against his side.

Dorothea makes a noncommittal sound and waves them goodbye. Sylvain can feel Felix sigh again as he directs them towards the elevator. “I can’t believe you let them talk you into something like this.” There’s a tightness in Felix’s tone and it gnaws at Sylvain’s heart. He almost spills the contents of his heart in a pitiful mess right then and there.

He manages to hold his tongue and simply chuckles as Felix puts him in the passenger seat and buckles him in. “I got ambushed. I thought Hilda was inviting me for drinks with Claude. Not,” Sylvain makes a vague gesture in the direction of the complex, “that.”

Felix rummages for something in the backseat and hands him a bottle of water as he slides into the driver’s seat. Sylvain mumbles a thanks under his breath fondly and he hears Felix dig out his keys. His eyes widen when he sees the ugly charm dangling off them. He’d gotten it for Felix as a joke and Felix had a lot of crude words to say about it at the time. He never saw it again so he assumed Felix had made good on his words and thrown it out.

Something claws at Sylvain’s heart knowing that Felix held onto it and keeps it on his person all the time. “I love you,” Sylvain blurts out. It tumbles past his lips before he can reign them in and he winces when he sees Felix freeze.

For a moment, Felix says nothing. Sylvain can’t bring himself to look at his face, afraid of what he might find there.

“Is this another drunken mistake?”

Sylvain’s eyes widen and he meets Felix’s, seeing the pain and _hope_ in them.

“No. Never, I-“ Sylvain fumbles for words. He’s definitely under the influence of all the alcohol he drank or he’d never have let those words out at out no matter how much coaxing the girls did or how painful his feelings clawed at his chest.

_Take a leap of faith._

“It was never a drunken mistake. I was just too much of a coward to tell you the truth but too selfish to push you away when you kissed me. And too stubborn and scared to hope that maybe it wasn’t a drunken mistake from you.”

Felix’s shoulder relax a bit but his jaw is still tight. He lets out a shaky exhale and drags his hands through his hair and down his face with a groan. “We are not having this conversation while you’re drunk. I don’t know if I can take you sobering up and taking back everything you said again.” Felix starts the ignition and Sylvain’s heart is stuck as a lump in his throat. He tries to force words out but stops when Felix speaks again.

“If you mean it, say it to me again when you’re sober.” Sylvain can only nod in response because then his brain short circuits. Felix leans across the seat to peck him on the lips before pulling away and driving them home.

Sylvain lingers on that and the pink dusting Felix’s cheeks the entire trip home, right up to the moment Felix drops him in his bed and tucks him in.

For the first time since he accepted that his feelings for Felix were never going to go away, he dares to hope. He took the leap (although honestly, it was more like being dragged to the edge by several terrifying ladies he loves) and he can almost believe that Felix will catch him on the other side.

**Author's Note:**

>  **[group chat: Felix, Sylvain, Lysithea]**  
>  ** _Lysithea:_** _you two owe me cake for the rest of my life  
>  **Felix:** shut up  
>  **Sylvain:** <3  
> _  
> I want Sylvain to be friends with all the wonderful ladies and he deserves all their support. Also I love bullying/teasing him through them. Thanks for reading!


End file.
